Three smash hit musicals spun from beloved movies, “An American in Paris,” “School of Rock” and “Waitress,” will highlight the 2017-2018 SHN Broadway series.

Some of these shows are nostalgic fantasies, others are riffs on popular movies, but they are all part of a crowd-pleasing season that celebrates the joys of the big screen.

The dreamy “American in Paris,” the Tony-winning tale of an American soldier falling for a mysterious French woman, runs Sept. 12-Oct. 8. Inspired by the classic Gene Kelly film, this musical may be most notable for its taut direction and choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.

The family-friendly hit “School of Rock,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s spunky musical about prep school kids getting down with their rock selves, runs June 27-July 22, 2018. The original 2003 movie was a memorable vehicle for the antics of Jack Black as wannabe rock star Dewey Finn, who poses as a substitute teacher in between gigs.

Diane Paulus (“Pippin,” “Hair”) directs the heart-tugging story of Jenna, a small-town piemaker desperate to find a way out of her loveless marriage, in “Waitress.” The uplifting tuner, based on the 2007 film starring Kerri Russell, runs Oct. 16-Nov. 11, 2018.

Diane Paulus, director of the musical “Pippin,” will direct “Waitress” in the new SHN season.

The rest of the seven-show Broadway lineup will include Disney’s fable of the magic lamp “Aladdin,” (Nov. 1-Jan. 7, 2018), the revival of the emotionally charged musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” (May 1-May 27, 2018), the propulsive musical valentine to Emilio and Gloria Estefan “On Your Feet” (Sept. 11-Oct. 7, 2018) and the wacky Shakespearean spoof “Something Rotten” (Aug. 15-Sept. 10). There will also be a bonus run of the hysterical religious and cultural satire from the makers of “South Park” known as “The Book of Mormon,” which was the “Hamilton” of its day (Feb. 6-March 4, 2018).

Tickets for the 2017-2018 season, ranging $245-$815, are currently available for subscribers. New subscriptions will be available May 3. All shows take place at the Orpheum or Golden Gate theaters. Single tickets will go on sale at a later date; 888-746-1799, www.shnsf.com

Karen D’Souza is a writer for the Bay Area News Group papers, covering healthy living, Bay Area culture and other lifestyle topics. She is a four-time Pulitzer juror, a former USC/Getty Arts Journalism Fellow and a longtime member of the Glickman Drama Jury and the American Theatre Critics Association. She has a Master's Degree in Journalism from UC Berkeley.

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